Film Movement Acquires Rights to Japanese Black Comedy 'Key of Life'

By
Erin Whitney
|
IndiewireFebruary 6, 2013 at 3:31PM

Film Movement has acquired North American rights to "Key of Life," a Japanese black comedy about identity theft as a desperate attempt at a new life. The film will open in New York in the summer of 2013 followed by a limited national run and a day-to-date VOD premiere.

Film Movement has acquired North American rights to "Key of Life," a Japanese black comedy about identity theft as a desperate attempt at a new life. The film will open in New York in the summer of 2013 followed by a limited national run and a day-to-date VOD premiere.

Kenji Uchida's cynical tale revolves around Sakurai, a miserable 35-year-old unemployed actor who just before taking his own life decides to steal the identity of a man with amnesia. Sakurai comes to discover that his new life is that of an elite assassin as he becomes entangled in a mess of illegal affairs with yakuza gang members. Meanwhile Kondo, the man with memory loss, becomes convinced he is Sakuri and struggles to succeed as an actor.

"It has been quite a while since we have laughed so much with a film; 'Key of Life' kept a smile on our face throughout, and even long after the screening," Adley Gartenstein, Film Movement’s President said. "Director Kenji Uchida does a superb job at using timeless and universal comic tropes, while also maintaining within the film a distinct Japanese identity."

The rights to "Key of Life" were negotiated by Film Movement’s President, Adley Gartenstein, and Kana Koido of Klockworx.